Summary
The zone established by Article V, paragraph 5, of the Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement: where the Armistice Demarcation Line does not correspond to the international boundary between Syria and Palestine, the area between the Line and the boundary, pending final territorial settlement, is a Demilitarized Zone from which the armed forces of both Parties are totally excluded, expressly including the Ein Gev and Dardara sectors (Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, PDF p.6).
Details
- The Zone’s arrangements are not to be interpreted as having any relation whatsoever to ultimate territorial arrangements, and the Line and Zone are defined to separate the two Parties’ armed forces so as to minimize friction and incident while providing for the gradual restoration of normal civilian life in the Zone, without prejudice to the ultimate settlement (Article V, paragraphs 1 and 2, PDF p.5).
- Any advance by either Party’s armed forces, military or para-military, into any part of the Zone, when confirmed by the United Nations representatives referred to in the article, constitutes a flagrant violation of the Agreement (Article V, paragraph 5(b), PDF p.6).
- Withdrawal of the armed forces found in the Zone, with removal of mines and destruction or removal of permanent fortifications, is completed under Annex II in three sector stages over twelve weeks from signing: north to Ad Darbishiya in the first three weeks, El Hammam south to the Transjordan frontier in the second three weeks, and Ad Darbishiya south to El Hammam in the remaining six weeks (Annex II, PDF p.10-11).
- The Chairman of the Syria-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission is empowered to authorize the return of civilians to villages and settlements in the Zone and the employment of limited numbers of locally recruited civilian police there for internal security purposes, guided by the Annex II withdrawal schedule (Article V, paragraph 5(e), PDF p.6).
- On each side of the Zone are the Annex III defensive areas, in which only the Annex IV defensive forces may be maintained (Article V, paragraph 6, and Annexes III-IV, PDF p.6, p.11-12).
Related pages
Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement (Hill 232, 1949), Syria-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission, Green Line, El Auja